Surely the greatest assembly of Alpha Males in movie history! (Left to Right): Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter and James Coburn in: The Magnificent Seven (1960)...\\n

Directed by: John Sturges
\\nDistributed by: United Artists\\n

"There won't be any trouble - if you ride on."

Whatever your hopes are for 2024, I wish you and your loved-ones every blessing; and I shall be pleased to know that you are finding success and fulfilment.

​God Bless You All and Happy New Year...

​"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let every new year find you a better man."

Benjamin Franklin

So today I turned on the news and as I suspected, the pattern of every Christmas I can remember is repeated once again: Christmas Day, it was "Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Men", Religious Leaders stood on balconies and called for "Peace and Love"; and families enjoyed each others' company around the table of Sister and Brotherhood. Then today, Boxing Day, normal service is resumed. The bombs are falling, the missiles are being "targeted", people are hungry and homeless, and the innocent are dying... Again.
In short, our species has resumed our normal practice of being utter bastards towards each other.

Well today, I just couldn't stand to watch any more of it. I'm sick of Humanity. So I am grateful to Channel 5 for screening two wonderful movies which my Wife and I loved watching together this afternoon...
The first, made in 1954, was 'The Glenn Miller Story' with James Stewart in the role of the legendary Band Leader. His Leading Lady, playing his Wife in the film, was the wonderful June Allyson, (who I still maintain had the sexiest voice of any Actress on the Silver Screen!). One of my favourite movies, filled with wonderful, timeless music; and that scene which gets me emotional every time I see it, as the band played on when the V1 flying bomb engine cut and the audience sought cover!
The second film in this afternoon's matinee was 'Kinky Boots' (2005), which curiously we had never seen before. A delightful, (based on a true) story with a excellent cast; I had to pinch myself to believe that the Actor, (or was it Actress!), playing Drag Queen, Simon/Lola, was Chiwetel Ejiofor who played Solomon Northup in 'Twelve Years A Slave' (2013). What a fabulously talented Actor he obviously is.
I should imagine the stage version of Kinky Boots is worth a visit too.

So once again, thanks Channel 5 for a wonderful afternoon. (If you could make those advert breaks a little shorter, that would be great as well).

God Bless You All this Boxing Day, and every day. Keep The Faith.
I'm off to see if there is another great film to watch...

And so once again we reach that day of the year which for me holds greater significance than any Christmas Day, New Year's Day, or Birthday. It is December 21, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere; followed by the longest night, with the Winter Solstice being reached in the early hours of December 22. The change in daylight is caused by the Earth's angle of tilt to the Sun, (some 23.5°), in relation to its position in orbit. Yet for me, this date always seems strangely symbolic of the seemingly endless struggle between light and dark. For six months, the light in the Northern Hemisphere has fallen back, as onward surged the triumphant darkness; but tonight, as if in a great battle like a Gettysburg, or a Stalingrad, the tide of this struggle will turn, the advance of the darkness will be halted, and the light will at last begin to return. As the Solstice passes, we can start to look forward again; to the rebirth of Spring, to those long Summer nights in the garden, or better still on the beach.
This date also held great significance for the followers of ancient customs like paganism, for whom the Sun and the seasons were particularly revered. These festivals were of course, incorporated into what has now become Christmas, when we followers of Jesus will celebrate His birth. However, some historians suggest that Jesus was actually born in early to mid April, others place His birth later; but almost all agree it was not 'in the bleak midwinter'; and our Christmas decorations are drawn from various sources including the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
It was perhaps from my late Father that I inherited my dislike of these long, dark nights and English Winters. Dad always said if he became a rich man, (he didn't), he would live in England from April through September; and in Australia from October through March! Sounds good to me, and for Dad, who loved his Summer days and Cricket, it would have been a kind of Shangri La...

However, it was also on this date, eight years ago, that this darkest of days became even darker in our family story when my Father-In-Law, Denis, one of the finest Gentlemen I ever knew, made his final journey to the Promised Land. He is loved and missed today, and every day, by all who knew him and were touched by his life; and for the rest of my life, in addition to it's place in the solar calendar, this date will always be tinged by the sadness of his loss.
Requiescat In Pace, Dad...

In conclusion, I just want to say that whatever December 21 means for you, I would like to wish you and your loved ones well in it. May this day remind you that even in your darkest moments, there are brighter times ahead; and I pray that your world will be filled with light, both literally and figuratively, in the months to come...

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."

Desmond Tutu.

My late Father never had much time for Science Fiction. He was a great character, but not much given to fanciful ideas of beings from other planets, and super-light speed craft travelling across the space-time continuum. He much preferred a good Western!
There was however, one particular program which became the exception that proved my Dad's rule... The Invaders.
Released in 1967 the story opens with an Architect, David Vincent, played by Actor, Roy Thinnes, witnessing the landing of an alien craft when he stops to rest on a long car journey. The Invaders hardly had an original plot, (aliens are coming to take over the World); and yet Vincent's attempts to convince a disbelieving Humanity that these creatures were among us somehow appealed to my Dad and, as an avid Fan of the Sci-Fi genre myself, I enjoyed watching it together with him; and always being fascinated by the way the Aliens, who had adapted to look like humans, nonetheless incinerated when they died!
So my heartstrings suddenly got tugged this morning when I saw that Amazon were selling the box set on offer. I've never purchased anything so fast in all my life!
Dad is in the celestial realms himself now, but somehow I know he will be with me when I sit down to watch that eerie opening scene for the first time in so many years.
And you all keep watching the skies. They are out there.

And may already be among us...

“God, Guts and Guns...”
​Sang Virgil Beckham in the 1983 film: Handgun,
​“Have made our country strong
“Now they're trying to take 'em all away
“Yes, God, Guts and Guns, gonna keep our country strong
​“I hope I never live to see the day ...”

In this article which I wrote for Central Bylines, I offer an examination of American gun culture and why change requires a deeper understanding of the role firearms play in the nation's history.​..
https://centralbylines.co.uk/god-guts-and-guns-americas-firearms-culture/

Well, once again we have arrived at the date which for me, is always the most psychologically important day in the calendar.
Here in England we are in the early hours of December 21, the shortest day of the year North of the Equator. For me, this date always seems strangely symbolic of the seemingly endless struggle between light and dark. For six months, the light in the Northern hemisphere has fallen back, as onward surged the triumphant darkness; but tonight, as if in a great battle like a Gettysburg, or a Stalingrad, the tide of this struggle will turn, the advance of the darkness will be halted, and the joyous light at last begin to return. We can start to look forward to the rebirth of Spring, and then those long Summer nights in the garden, or better still on the beach, and 40°C of heat; (well maybe not 40°C, that was a bit hot!).
This date also held great significance for the followers of ancient customs like paganism, for whom the Sun and the seasons were particularly revered. These festivals were of course, incorporated into what has now become Christmas, when we followers of Jesus will celebrate His birth. However, historians suggest that Jesus was actually born in early Spring, and not 'in the bleak midwinter'; and our Christmas decorations are drawn from various sources including the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
It was perhaps from my late Father that I inherited my dislike of these long, dark nights and English Winters. Dad always said if he became a millionaire, (he didn't by the way), he would live in England from April through September; and in Australia from October through March! Sounds good to me, and for Dad, who loved his Summer days and Cricket, it would have been a kind of Shangri La...

However, it was also on this date, seven years ago, that this darkest of days became even darker in our family story when my Father-In-Law, Denis, one of the finest Gentlemen I ever knew, made his final journey to the Promised Land. He is loved and missed today, and every day, by all who knew him and were touched by his life; and for the rest of my life, in addition to it's place in the solar calendar, this date will always be tinged by the sadness of his loss.
Requiescat In Pace, Dad...

December 21 is also a date which holds an interest for an old History Geek like me, since it was on this day in 1864 that American Major General, William Tecumseh Sherman, completed his famous 'March Through Georgia'.
In an incredibly bold operation his forces had left the captured city of Atlanta on November 15 and, living to a large extent off the land and captured supplies, they had blazed a path of destruction sixty miles wide through the state to reach the coastal city of Savannah, which surrendered without a fight. With Abraham Lincoln re-elected in November, and the South now split again, Sherman's audacious campaign effectively drove the last nail into the coffin of the Confederacy, who surrendered on April 9, 1865.

And so for me, today is more important than any New Year's Day; and whatever, if anything it means for you, I would like to wish you and your loved ones well in it. I hope it reminds you that even in your darkest moments, brighter times lie ahead; and I pray that your world will be filled with light, both literally and figuratively, in the months to come...

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."

Desmond Tutu.

I am saddened to learn of the passing of Actress, Louise Fletcher at the age of 88. She had a long and distinguished career spanning some six decades, but will forever be remembered as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe.
Ironically, Fletcher was still virtually unknown when she was cast in the role, which several leading Actresses including Ellen Burstyn and Angela Lansbury had turned down; but her colossal performance as a woman wielding institutionalized power remains one of the most defining roles in movie history.

Estelle Louise Fletcher (1934 - 2022)
Requiescat In Pace...